State Dinosaur Debunked

A recent discovery by SMU geology graduate Peter Rose (’04) may lead to a new state dinosaur for Texas. The pleurocoelus (inset), a 50-foot-long, plant-eating dinosaur unearthed 10 years ago near Glen Rose, was designated the official dinosaur of Texas by the State Legislature. Rose determined that the bones of the state dinosaur were not those of a pleurocoelus at all, but of a previously unknown species he named the paluxysaurus. Now the pleurocoelus may be stripped of its official designation and the honor reassigned to the paluxysaurus. Rose, who received his Master’s degree in geological sciences from SMU, is pursuing a Ph.D. in paleontology at the University of Minnesota.